National Australia Bank
The National Australia Bank (sometimes "the National" or the NAB) is the largest bank in Australia.
History
- 1858: Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentleman, enlisted Andrew Cruickshank, a local merchant and pastoralist, to raise the capital to establish National Bank of Australasia (NBA) with head quarters in Melbourne. Cruickshank became NBA's first chairman and Gibbs left after being passed over for the position of General Manager.
- 1858: The bank opened a branch in South Australia.
- 1859: NBA established a branch in Mauritius, but closed it within a year.
- 1864: NBA opened a branch in London to handle financing and payment for Australian exports of wool, gold and other commodities, and also imports to Australia. NBA also opened its first branch in Tasmania.
- 1866: NBA opened its first branch in Western Australia.
- 1885: NBA opened its first branch New South Wales.
- 1893: NBA was on of the many banks that closed its doors during the banking crisis that year. It re-emerged as a public limited company, incorporated on June 23, 1893.
- 1918: The bank acquired Colonial Bank of Australasia (est. 1856), which brought additional branches in Victoria and New South Wales.
- 1920: NBA opened its first branch in Queensland.
- 1922: The bank acquired Bank of Queensland (est. 1917), with its branches in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
- 1946: NBA opened a representative office in Tokyo that it upgraded to a branch in 1985.
- 1948: The bank acquired the Queensland National Bank (est. 1872), with its branches in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The Bank of Queensland was the result of the merger in 1917 of Royal Bank of Queensland (est. 1886) and Bank of North Queensland (est. 1888).
- 1955: The bank acquired Ballarat Banking Company (est. 1865) in Victoria.
- 1971: NBA opened a branch in Singapore.
- 1973: NBA opened a representative office and took a minority interest in a merchant bank in Jakarta. It withdrew from the merchant bank in 1984.
- 1974: NBA opened a representative office in Hong Kong that it upgraded to a branch in 1985. It also took a minority position in a merchant bank in Kuala Lumpur from which it withdrew in 1984.
- 1977: NBA entered the US with a branch and an agency in Los Angeles that it closed in 1993.
- 1978: NBA and Mitsubishi Bank and Trust established a 50-50 joint venture merchant bank in Hong Kong, but withdrew in 1984.
- 1981: In 1981 NBA merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank (NAB).
- 1982: NAB opened a branch in Chicago and a representative office in Beijing.
- 1983: NAB opened a representative office in Dallas and another in Seoul that it upgraded to branch in 1990.
- 1984: NAB opened a representative office in San Francisco, another in Kuala Lumpur, and a third in Athens that it closed in 1989.
- 1985: NAB opened a representative office in Frankfurt that it closed in 1992.
- 1986: NAB opened a representative office in Atlanta, another in Bangkok, and a third in Taipei that it upgraded to a branch in 1990.
- 1987: NAB bought Clydesdale Bank (Scotland), National Irish Bank (Republic of Ireland) and Northern Bank (Northern Ireland) from Midland Bank.
- 1988: NAB opened a representative office in Shanghai that it closed in 1990.
- 1989: NAB opened a representative office in Houston and another in New Delhi.
- 1990: NAB bought Yorkshire Bank.
- 1991: NAB rationalized its operations in the US and closed its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco.
- 1992: NAB bought Bank of New Zealand, which at the time had about a 26% market share in the New Zealand market.
- 1995: NAB bought Michigan National Bank (MNB).
- 1997: NAB bought HomeSide Lending(see Washington Mutual), a leading US mortgage originator and servicer based in Florida.
- 2000: NAB sold Michigan National Bank to ABN Amro.
- 2001: NAB sold HomeSide’s operating assets for US$1.9b to Washington Mutual, the largest US savings and loan company, as well as the mortgage unit's loan-servicing technology and operating platform. Homeside had sustained massive losses approximating US$1.75 billion and consisting of US$400 million from an incorrect interest rate assumption embedded in the mortgage servicing rights valuation model, US$760 million from changed assumptions in the model flowing from the continued unprecedented uncertainty and turbulence in the mortgage servicing market, and US$590 million from writing off of the goodwill.
NAB is currently (2003-4) under investigation by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for suspect practices concerning foreign exchange deals.
